New Comics (10-19-2016)

Welcome to another edition of New Comics, where we give our suggestions on what books to pick up when perusing the comic shelves week to week. As always, I am joined by Kris Johnson of Bizarre Comics Entertainment. Read on to find the best of what the comic shop has in store for you this week.

Here we go.

BLACK HAMMER #4 $3.99 (Dark Horse) – Are you reading this series? You really should be. Jeff Lemire is crafting something special with this tale of Golden Age heroes trapped in an alternate reality prison (if that’s what it is). Alternating between big, mythology-centric tales and smaller personal stories, the series offers something unique every month. This issue, Abraham Slam has to contend with his volatile fellow heroes/housemates as he attempts to host his girlfriend for dinner. Shenanigans will ensure, to be sure! (Kris Johnson)

ASTONISHING ANT-MAN #13 $4.99 (Marvel) – One of the best books Marvel is currently producing continues with the “trial of the century“……okay, that’s an overstatement, especially for a Miami court. This is probably not even on the radar of the biggest case that’s gone down there. Anyways, things are not looking good for old Scott Lang as his ex-lover, the Beetle, destroys his credibility and “upstanding name” in front of a jury of his “peers”. Will Scott end up staying in the slammer for good? We might find out this issue….we might. (Andrew)

BATMAN #9 $2.99 (DC Comics) – The beginning of a new arc! The Dark Knight teams up with the Suicide Squad to break into an impenetrable prison and steal from the mountainous mass of malicious muscle known as BANE. Will the Bat make it out with an intact spine? Will a tiny bomb in someone’s brain go boom? Will Bane finally wash his mask? He should think about it. Probably smells like onions and feet at this point. (Kris Johnson)

FAITH #4 $3.99 (Valiant) – Okay, so it was obvious from the miniseries from earlier this year that the Faith series is a love letter to comics and sci-fi fans. Upping the ante of Faith’s Uber-fangirl status all the way to 11, the regular series has given us nerds so much more to geek out about. Case in point, the current storyline where Faith and Archer must stop a group of “back issue bandits” from pulling off the biggest caper to hit any major comic convention. On top of that, Faith’s gotta duke it out with a cosplayer who’s a very authentic look-a-like. It’s Faith vs. Faith! Not gonna want to miss this one. (Andrew)

DOCTOR STRANGE #13 $3.99 (Marvel) – Doctor Strange is less Sorcerer Supreme and more John Constantine these days, relying on cursed items and his wits as much as any of his (admittedly weak) magic spells. In his weakened state, does the Doc stand a chance against an assemblage of a who’s who of his rogues gallery? Nightmare, Mordo, Satana, and the motherfuggin’ Dread Dormammu are here and ol’ Stephen Strange may not make it out alive. (Kris Johnson)

SPELL ON WHEELS #1 (OF 5) $3.99 (Dark Horse) – Here comes a road story with a magical edge. When three young witches are robbed of their magical items, they’ve gotta go on the hunt to track the down the dude that stole them….before bad things happen. It’s a simple idea with some fun characters and hey, who doesn’t love a good road story? Amirite? (Andrew)

BLACK WIDOW #7 $3.99 (Marvel) – Really Kris? That’s all you need to say? Let me show you how to properly promote a great comic. Hey friends, if you’re like me, you love a great spy comic. Right now, there is no greater spy comic on the shelves than Black Widow. The Widow’s finally got one up on the Weeping Lion (the mysterious one who’s been forcing Natasha to collect info for him) and she’s planning to use that leverage to take down the Dark Room (the new incarnation of the Red Room, aka the dudes that trained her). But first, she’s gotta deal with Recluse, the daughter of the Red Room’s former headmistress who’s desperately wants to kill the Widow to prove her worth. Exciting espionage that’s worth your four bucks! See Kris, that’s a lot better than just letting the name of an overrated super villain be your whole argument. (Andrew)

ARCHIE #13 $3.99 (Archie) – Betty begins her new school life at Pembrooke private school. There’s just one problem: reigning mean girl Cheryl Blossom is making a point to be colossal pain in Ms. Cooper’s ass. Lucky for Betty, she has some experience when it comes to dealing with entitled, rich, snotty jerk-asses. (Kris Johnson)

JINGLE BELLE WHOLE PACKAGE TP $29.99 (IDW) – Okay, so when people think Paul Dini and his contributions to the world of comics and animation, the first thing that comes to mind is that he’s the guy who created Harley Quinn. And rightly, that should be the first thing that comes to mind. What folks forget is that he created another great female character full of fun and mischief with a holiday vibe: Jingle Belle. It’s a Christmas-themed character that can’t help getting into trouble….which leads to some madcap adventure for this saucy sprite. Featuring artwork from the likes of J. Bone, Kyle Baker and more, this 340 page trade collects ALL the past Jingle Belle stories in one place, just for you! So pick it up and get in the Christmas spirit before Halloween even gets here. (Andrew)

So there you go. That’s this week’s New Comics Check these books out and let us know what you think. We’ll be back again next week with more choice cuts of comic goodness!